Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Sells 21,442 Shares of Apollo Global Management Inc. $APO

Key Points

• Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC cut its Apollo Global Management stake by 87.1% in the first quarter, selling 21,442 shares and leaving it with 3,169 shares valued at about $353,000.
• Institutional ownership remains high, with hedge funds and other institutional investors holding 77.06% of Apollo’s stock, while insider John P. Zito also sold 48,644 shares in late May.
• Analysts are still broadly positive on Apollo, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $151.23, even as some firms trimmed targets and one downgraded the stock to sell.

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC reduced its position in Apollo Global Management Inc. (NYSE:APO - Free Report) by 87.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,169 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 21,442 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC's holdings in Apollo Global Management were worth $353,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of APO. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC bought a new stake in Apollo Global Management in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Apollo Global Management by 246.0% during the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,688 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $411,000 after acquiring an additional 2,622 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apollo Global Management by 12.5% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,649 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $518,000 after acquiring an additional 516 shares during the period. OP Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Apollo Global Management during the 1st quarter worth approximately $4,954,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Apollo Global Management by 438.1% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 66,923 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,457,000 after acquiring an additional 54,486 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on APO. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Apollo Global Management from $181.00 to $165.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Apollo Global Management in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Apollo Global Management from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Apollo Global Management from $155.00 to $146.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Apollo Global Management from $139.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apollo Global Management presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $151.23.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John P. Zito sold 48,644 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.66, for a total transaction of $6,355,825.04. Following the sale, the insider owned 3,063,696 shares of the company's stock, valued at $400,302,519.36. This represents a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 8.30% of the company's stock.

Apollo Global Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE APO opened at $118.71 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.73. The firm has a market cap of $68.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.50. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $128.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $126.81. Apollo Global Management Inc. has a one year low of $99.56 and a one year high of $157.28.

Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.05. Apollo Global Management had a return on equity of 14.43% and a net margin of 3.62%.The company had revenue of $5.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.82 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Apollo Global Management Inc. will post 8.26 EPS for the current year.

Apollo Global Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were given a $0.5625 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 19th. This is a positive change from Apollo Global Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Apollo Global Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 143.31%.

Apollo Global Management Profile

Apollo Global Management, Inc NYSE: APO is a global alternative investment manager that specializes in private equity, credit and real assets. The firm originates, invests in and manages a broad set of strategies across distressed and opportunistic credit, direct lending, structured credit, buyouts and real estate. Apollo provides investment management and advisory services to institutional clients and individual investors through pooled funds, separate accounts and publicly listed investment vehicles.

Its private equity business pursues control and non-control investments across industries, often focusing on complex or distressed situations where operational improvement and capital solutions can create value.

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